Major Upgrades – Squier Affinity FMT Telecaster

Recently I published an “On the Bench” video on the newly released Squier Affinity FMT Telecaster. The link to the video is in this video’s description.

Just a quick disclaimer. All of the items used in this video were purchased. This is not a sponsored video.

In the “On the Bench” video I stated that the Affinity body and the neck had good bones, meaning that they were worth upgrading as they are in very serviceable and usable condition.

Also, in that video I was very happy to discover that the bridge routing and screw holes on the guitar body would support changing out the Affinity six saddle bridge to a Fender vintage style four hole/three saddle bridge.

This opened a lot of possibilities for upgrades and modifications. Including adding a Vibramate Bigsby B5 Mounting kit.
I wanted to upgrade this guitar with just about everything that you could possibly upgrade without having to have the skills of a luthier. If you can solder and use some basic hand tools, then this project is for you.

As I said earlier, I installed the Fender Vintera 50s Telecaster Pickups. I decided to not install a Humbucker in the neck but instead replaced the pickguard and installed a traditional Telecaster single coil pickup in the neck instead. The Vintera pickups are great and only cost $99 MSRP.

Fender describes the pickups as: The bridge pickup features alnico 3 magnets that are flush mounted for vintage “Blackguard” bite and the neck pickup uses alnico 2 for rich, detailed warmth found in early 50’s Telecasters.

Adding a Vibramate V5-TEV Stainless Steel Kit for a Telecaster allows you to install a B5 Bigsby Vibrato on your guitar without permanent modifications. It comes with a bridge assembly and a tailpiece that the B5 mounts to.

The links to the things I installed on the guitar in this video can be found in the video description.

A few comments about installing the Vibramate Tailpiece.

This is an easy upgrade to your guitar that does not require advanced skills.

First you remove your existing bridge and then remove the saddles and pickup to install them on the Vibramate Bridge. If you are replacing the original six saddle bridge you will need to order a set of three telecaster saddles. I recommend buying a quality set of brass compensated saddle that will make it easier for you to intonate your guitar. They are usually about $25 for a good set. The link is in the video description.

https://stewmac.sjv.io/nLaoYo

One note is that you should get your saddles close to where they would be if intonated properly.

Otherwise, the Bigsby when installed makes it a very difficult process as it limits access to the adjustment screws on the back of the bridge.

I found if you pull the four bridge screws and tilt the bridge upward you can adjust and then reinstall the bridge.

I love the installation of the mounting tailpiece. All you do is slide the tailpiece under the Vibramate bridge and then unscrew and remove your strap button. Put the tailpiece in place and then screw in the strap button and you are done.

All you do now is set the Bigsby B5 in place and using the supplied rubber washers and nuts and lock down the Bigsby. It is that easy.

https://stewmac.sjv.io/QyBb4z

https://stewmac.sjv.io/rQVD2R

For the wiring harness I used a traditional modern telecaster design utilizing two CTS 250k Solid Shaft Pots, an Oak Grigsby 3-way Pickup Selector Switch, and a .047 uf Capacitor. I left the original output jack assembly in place and reused it.

I could not use the same knobs and pickup selector switch knob as they would not fit the new US Sized components.

I am not suggesting you build a wiring harness. You can easily purchase a premade, quality harness. A good quality premade harness with the same components will run you about $75.

https://stewmac.sjv.io/LXJmZY

To wrap up the project I removed the factory tuners and upgraded them to the GraphTech Ratio Locking Tuners. They are drop-in replacements for the Squier Two Pin holes. They are great tuners. I really like them. Each tuner has a different gear ratio for how it turns and tunes the string.

GraphTech explains: Graph Tech tuned the gear ratios to each string position so that every string responds the same to any tuning adjustment. You get fine tuning on the thicker core strings and coarser tuning on the thinner core; anywhere from 12:1 to 39:1 gear ratio. With Ratio, one turn is about one tone change on all strings, making tuning, retuning and open tunings easier, quicker and more intuitive.

https://stewmac.sjv.io/VmnN0M

After reinstalling the neck and stringing the guitar I was ready to finish the setup. I adjusted saddle height and checked intonation to find it was already locked in from my initial adjustments when installing the bridge.